Deadliest stampedes of the past decade

Rescue workers recovering the bodies of those killed in the Halloween stampede in Seoul, South Korea on 29 October, 2022AFP

The crush that killed at least 85 people in Sanaa, Yemen, during a charity distribution event is among the worst stampedes of the past decade. Here are the most deadly:

Mecca: 2,300 dead

On 24 September, 2015, a massive stampede on the site of the stoning of the devil ritual in Mina near Mecca during the annual pilgrimage caused around 2,300 deaths, the deadliest disaster in the hajj's history.

Iran, which said 464 of its pilgrims were killed, accused Saudi Arabia of failing to organise the event properly.

Some pilgrims blamed the stampede on the closure of a road near the stoning site, claiming security forces mismanaged the flow of worshippers.

Hajj pilgrims and Saudi emergency personnel carry a woman on a stretcher at the site where at least 2,300 were killed and hundreds wounded in a stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, at the annual hajj in Saudi Arabia on 24 September, 2015
AFP

South Korea: more than 145 dead

On the night of 29 October, 2022, more than 145 people were killed and 150 injured in a stampede in Seoul during a Halloween party with several thousand participants in the narrow streets of a neighbourhood in the South Korean capital.

Indonesia: at least 133 dead

On 1 October, 2022, a stampede in a football stadium in Malang, East Java, killed 133 people, including more than 40 children.

Police had tried to fend off fans with tear gas and many panic-stricken victims were crushed or suffocated while trying to use closed or narrow exit doors.

A riot police officer fires tear gas during a riot after the league BRI Liga 1 football match between Arema vs Persebaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java province, Indonesia, on 2 October, 2022, in this photo taken by Antara Foto
Reuters

A police officer and two match officials have been jailed for 12-18 months over the disaster.

India: at least 115 dead

On 13 October, 2013, a stampede on the sidelines of a religious festival near a temple in the Datia district of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh left at least 115 people dead, mostly trampled or drowned, and more than 110 injured.

At the time of the accident, some 20,000 people were on a bridge over the Sindh River.

According to local authorities, a rumour about a possible collapse of the bridge caused the stampede.

Yemen: at least 85 dead

In this screengrab taken on 20 April, 2023 from Al-Masirah TV video footage taken on April 19 via AFPTV, people react during a stampede at a charity distribution event in Yemen's capital Sanaa
AFP

On 20 April, 2023, more than 80 people were killed and hundreds injured in a crush at a charity distribution event in war-torn Yemen.

The incident took place inside a school where cash was being distributed.

Hundreds of people in the poverty-hit country had gathered to receive 5,000 Yemeni riyals (around $8).

Iran: 56 dead

On 7 January, 2020, a stampede in Kerman in Iran's southeast during the funeral of General Qasem Soleimani, which was attended by a huge crowd, resulted in 56 deaths.

The widely venerated general was killed on January 3 by a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport.

Ethiopia: at least 52 dead

On 2 October, 2016, at least 52 people died, according to authorities -- at least 100, according to the opposition -- in a crowd surge in Bishoftu, 50 kilometres (30 miles) southeast of Addis Ababa.

Clashes erupted between crowds and police during the traditional Oromo Irreecha festival that marks the end of the rainy season, causing the stampede.

Tanzania: 45 dead

On 21 March, 2021, 45 people died in a stampede at a stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's economic capital, where a tribute to late president John Magufuli was being held.

Medics and rescue workers attend to the Lag B'Omer event in Mount Meron, northern Israel, where fatalities were reported among the thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered at the tomb of a 2nd-century sage for annual commemorations that include all-night prayer and dance, at Mount Meron, Israel on 30 April 2021
Reuters

Israel: 45 dead

On 30 April, 2021, a stampede during the Jewish holiday pilgrimage from Lag Ba'omer to Mount Meron in northern Israel killed at least 45 people, darkening the largest gathering in the country since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.